Longmont's Sunday storm beats all: More snow than in December, January combined

Snow could bring precipitation levels back to normal

LONGMONT -- By mid-morning Sunday, more snow had fallen on Longmont than in December and January combined.

According to Times-Call weather expert Dave Larison, the city saw 8 inches of snowfall by noon. Between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m., he said, the flakes piled up at a rate of about 2 inches an hour.

"It's starting to slow down some," he said after taking his noon measurement.

The storm slowed significantly in the afternoon, nudging the total to 8.3 inches by day's end.

Agape Family Services has opened its warming center at 10667 Parkridge Ave. for those in need of shelter. A backup shelter at Central Presbyterian Church, at Fourth Avenue and Kimbark St., is also open.

The snowy conditions and frequent high winds added up to more than a few crashes on the road. Cmdr. Jeff Satur of the Longmont Police Department said 21 accidents were reported by 5 p.m. Sunday: 15 that caused only property damage, five that resulted in injuries, and one hit-and-run.

"That's a lot of accidents in one day," Satur said.

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The number of non-injury accidents may be higher than reported, since the city went on accident alert at 9:30 a.m. Under those conditions, drivers in a non-injury accident are expected to exchange information and call police later.

"When the snow's like this, stay home unless you absolutely need to go out," Satur urged. "Stay home, enjoy the weather and get your sidewalks cleared off for your neighbors."

Longmont residents are required to remove snow and ice from the sidewalks outside their homes no later than 24 hours after the end of a snowstorm.

The snow was equal to about .44 inches of rain, Larison said. Since Jan. 1, Longmont had seen about .33 inches of precipitation. With this new storm, he said, the city should be back on track for year-to-date moisture.

"We're making up a lot of ground," he said.

Longmont's total snow season to date has come to 21.6 inches, about 10 inches below normal. It had been looking still worse before February -- the prior two months saw just 5.3 inches of snow, despite a Christmas Eve snowfall that brought a brief respite to the dry spell.

"All the storms before this one have just been little skiffs," Larison said. "This won't break the drought, but every bit helps."

While March is typically Longmont's snowiest month, February has been fighting for that distinction over the last few years.

In 2010, the month brought 13.8 inches of snowfall, followed by 9.9 inches in 2011 and a whopping 17 inches in 2012. Last year was the snowiest February Longmont had had since 1928, when 30 inches fell.

So far, the city's had 11.2 inches of snow in February.

According to the National Weather Service, Monday is expected to be sunny with a high of 33 degrees. The forecast also gives a 30 percent chance of more snow on Tuesday, though it's only expected to add about half an inch.

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